Yes, you have to declare income, and as such pay income tax.Yes, the house will then be up for some capital gains tax if you should ever sell.

Is the self-contained ground floor currently billed separately for electricity, gas and water?  If not, then the only way to get a tenant to pay for these services is in an "all-inclusive" rent.  If renting the place out, your friend will want to have an awareness of the decision this impact has on Capital Gains Tax should she ever decide to se…[Read more]

Landlord insurance WITH tenant protection is essential.  It will be $600ish per year.  In my opinion, you should not be deciding whether or not to get this insurance.  The default should be just to get it.  Things can go horribly wrong without it.  The insurance covers you for things like tenants failing to pay rent, malicious damage of prop…[Read more]

No, I understood your post – each of these concepts are applicable to investment properties.Vendor Finance means the seller of the property loans you some of the money (in other words, helping you with the piece of deposit you don't currently have.Rent to Buy, or Rent to Own, means you rent a place for an inflated rent, and buy it later for a…[Read more]

Here are a few of phrases to get acquainted with:"Vendor finance""Rent to Buy""Rent to Own"

In my opinion, it would be best to clear that personal loan with CBA before you acquire a property investment.  (What is this debt for, by the way?  If it is for a car, had you considered getting a car on a novated lease instead as a means of reducing your taxable income?)After that, focussing on an investment property would be a great idea!  Re…[Read more]

Hi amboshAre you an Australian who invested in the US?  If so, how did you go about it?

Hi.  My PPOR was a house and land package in Hoppers Crossing.  I wasn't into investing as such back then, so didn't bother to check what the place was worth after only 2-3 years.  I will say, however, that in 10 years it nearly tripled in value.Things to consider are:You will have to pay interest all by yourself while it is being built.I'm un…[Read more]

Hi TumuThe stamp duty can't be claimed as an expense, no.  However if you ever sell the property, the amount of the stamp duty is deducted from the profit before the capital gains tax is applied.

Those are interesting thoughts about the "birds nest" area in Werribee, JL.  I know the area, but hadn't realised it was slowly changing.  I also didn't know people on Centrelink payments might pay rent via direct debit as described by you, Sonya.  Thanks for sharing guys!

Anyone else got stories to share?

Can I ask:What sort of property is it?  (House/townhouse/villa/apartment)Does it have double-glazed windows?

Your solicitor

Have you tried contacting Rick Otton to see if either him or one of his students are offering rent to buys in the Hobart area?

I'm looking at a couple of "dodgy" areas as possible investment locations at the moment.  I won't go to the extreme and deliberately buy something where tenants have to be the kind of people who are comfortable to live in a street with lots of dodginess going on (lots of drug dealing, regular shootings and so on).  But it is interesting how a p…[Read more]

I just googled "rent to buy hobart" and there is a listing here;http://www.yourestate.com.au/ad/16141/and another here;http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Rent-to-Buy-North-Hobart-/290429756382

Hi MattThere are plenty of companies that can get you around this issue.  Do an internet search for "Rent to Buy".  The basic idea is that you pay an inflated rent for a while, and if you decide to purchase (for a pre-agreed price) the property you are renting, then the inflated portion of the rent comes off the purchase price.PS I'm pretty sure y…[Read more]

If you plan to do that with $350k cash and no finance, you'd want to be extremely careful.  Let's look at an example.Purchase a house for $300k.Stamp duty costs are $14k.Legal fees re purchase are say $1k.Spend $20k on renovation.Selling fees are say $10k.Legal fees re sale are say $1kSo that's a total spend of $346k.The question is, can you add…[Read more]

A few thoughts:1. There are still areas that you can purchase property for your budget.2. Any particular reason you'd want to sell the property and not hold it?3. If you want to play in the expensive pool, you could team up with someone that has some equity, or the capacity to get a loan… (ie a joint venture).4. Where are you located?

Hi Ingrid, I'd love to know who your accountant is if you care to share?<br /:-)” title=”>:-)” class=”bbcode_smiley” />